This page is an aid to bird
identification. To see more
songbirds (Feb. 13, 2005-present), such as those pictured in the top rows, visit the
Bird Blog. To see birds that live near water, go to
Shore Birds. To see birds in captivity, visit
Zoo Birds. Or see the wild birds in the
Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston County,
SC.

These birds each have a large repertoire of songs, not all borrowed from other
birds.

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma
rufum)

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum),
Durham, NC, 3/23/05.
It has the most attention-getting song, somewhat more high-pitched than
the Northern Mockingbird. its 1100 mostly original varieties of song.

Brown Thrasher,
which was eating the suet in this feeder on 2/2/10, but
apparently not until after working on a plan.

Brown Thrasher
(perhaps the same bird as the one on the left).
Durham, NC, 1/30/10,
the biggest bird ever to come, well, close to our feeders, on a cold,
snowy day. But it
flew away and showed up in a tree in the front yard for a while.

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis),
Durham, NC, 9/2/06. This very curious bird was watching me very
closely in a power line cut.

Gray Catbird, Durham, 4/25/06.
This bird's song, with all its squealing and smacking sounds, was
quite an attention-getter.

Northern Mockingbird
(Mimus polyglottos)

It's
interesting that the Northern Mockingbird, the bird with the most popular
song among humans, is also the most abundant -- and fearless -- species in
this group. This may be because mockingbirds stay with their parent(s)
as long as the latter will let them, insisting on their lessons about what
(not) to fear. Even after they fledge, they continue to follow around a
long-suffering parent, making baby bird peeping sounds. As adults, they
are tough, independent and tend to attack fiercely those they deem to be
encroaching on turf or threatening their families. Mockingbirds in my
neighborhood don't do a lot of singing, but stake out the same places year
after year. They are more abundant farther south.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Durham, 4/23/05. I was hoping to see a gradual transition in
plumage, but migration apparently interfered. This bird and
another appeared briefly after I'd thought the Yellow-rumped Warblers
had been gone for the year.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fort Fisher Recreational Area,
3/7/09

Subadult Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fort Fisher
Recreational Area, 3/7/09

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Snow's Cut Park, New Hanover
County, NC

Pine Warbler
(Dendroica Pinus)

Pine Warbler, Durham, NC,
10/29/13

Pine Warbler (Dendroica Pinus),
Durham, 3/12/05. These used to be rare visitors, but at least one
is coming regularly now.

Pine Warbler, Durham,
NC, 11/29/08. Pine Warblers seem to prefer to show up on gloomy
days.

Dark-eyed Juncos, the most common birds in my neighborhood
in the winter, prefer to eat seed that has
been dropped on the ground. White-throated Sparrows, also extremely
common, have a special tendency to
go after seeds dropped on the ground under the deck, and can gather there
by the dozens. But the only bird in this group to visit our bird feeders
is the Chipping Sparrow, a summer resident.

Eastern Towhee
(Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

Male Eastern Towhee, Duke Gardens, Durham, 2/22/05,
presumably scratching for seeds since no insects were around on this
date. It's unusual to see one of these birds out in the open; I
typically see them hiding inside bushes or in heavy brush.

Female
Eastern Towhee, 12/5/08. Their backs and heads
are chocolate brown, in contrast with the males' black coloring.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Male Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis),
"slate-colored" subspecies (the only one that is found in the
eastern US), Craggy Gardens parking lot (5500 feet
elevation), Macon County, NC, 7/20/03. This place is near the
southern extreme of this bird's breeding range. Obviously very
well fed!

Dark-eyed Junco, Durham, NC, 2/20/09. Click on the
thumbnail to see an especially large, detailed picture.

This is a very varied group. Although they can get
along nicely without people, some have had trouble coping with destruction of
their habitat. Putting out birdhouses for Eastern Bluebirds has helped,
however. Thrushes have some trouble with conventional birdfeeders
(although a few Eastern Bluebirds have proved to be exceptions on suet feeders)
because of their inability to figure out how to land on them. Although
they can perch on branches and similar structures at least 10 mm thick, they
have trouble landing on the smaller ones typically used on tube feeders or suet
holders.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts of Grayson County, VA has discovered how to enable a
Hermit Thrush to eat from a feeder. He keeps "one tube feeder hanging from
(his) porch, with an adjacent water pan, more often than not void of water.
He/she uses the water pan as a perch, and reaches into the tube feeder holes."
However, he says, this thrush only comes "during snow, wind, cold."

Jeff Lewis of Manteo, NC reported that his neighbor had Hermit Thrush success with a "suet
log."

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), Durham, 3/12/05. This one showed up in our back yard early one morning,
far from the feeders.

Hermit Thrush,
Durham, NC,
3/13/08.

Hermit Thrush,
Durham,
12/15/07. This thrush sought food in the immediate vicinity of our
feeders, but simply studied the corn for a while and hovered near the
suet feeder without landing, giving up altogether after that.

This is another varied group, with only their
long bills and tails in common. The ones I've seen seem very
adaptable, taking advantage of people and other birds alike. Boat-tailed
Grackles hang out wherever people are fishing, hoping a scrap will come their
way. Cowbirds, of course, are notorious for taking advantage, but people
have successfully fended them off in most places; Cedar Island, NC, is a notable
exception, however.

Half-grown Boat-tailed
Grackle (Quiscalus major),
Kure Beach Pier, New Hanover County, NC,
11/19/04. Better known as "Brown Bird" to search engines,
this is my most popular (and most often pirated) image. Visit
my online store
for products bearing this image.

Brown-headed Cowbird
(Molothrus ater),
town of Ocracoke, NC, 5/10/04. These parasitic birds invade the
Triangle in late spring, alas.

Young
Brown-headed Cowbird.
It was light brown; the blue color is apparently an artifact of flash
photography. ID thanks to Harry LeGrand and
Bill Hilton.

Cardinals and Allies
(Cardinalidae family, Passeriformes order)

Northern Cardinals are among the most common birds
where I live in Durham, NC, but are not always the easiest to photograph.
They prefer to come to our birdfeeder when the light is dim, and are quick to
flee when spotted in the woods. Indigo Buntings, on the other hand, are
always a pleasant surprise in my area.

Northern Cardinal
(Cardinalis cardinalis)

Portrait of a male
Northern Cardinal, Durham, 2/12/05. Amazing what great artistic
effects you can get from inadequate morning (9:16 am) light!

Male Northern Cardinal, Penny's
Bend, Durham County, NC, 11/30/05. This cardinal apparently thought he was
well-hidden in this thicket, about 20 feet away from me.

Male Northern Cardinal, Durham, NC,
12/31/06.

Male Northern Cardinal,
northern Durham, NC, 6/8/04. This bird, which apparently lives at least
partly on handouts at a public place, has lost nearly all of the
feathers on his head, revealing gray skin. Cornell Ornithology's Bald-headed Bird Page
ponders the phenomenon of birds' (abnormal) loss of all head feathers at
once (while staggered molting is the rule), but says that this hasn't
been researched well enough for anyone to draw any conclusions.

Birds in this group come to our birdfeeders more
often than all others put together. They painstakingly carry each seed to
a nearby tree branch, peck the shell open, eat the seed and return for another
over and over again. They are bold but alert and I suspect they work hard
sizing us up.

Tufted Titmouse (Bacolphus
bicolor)

Tufted Titmouse, Durham, NC, 1/20/09

Tufted Titmouse, Durham, NC, 1/18/09

Tufted Titmouse, with fruit, Sandy
Creek Park, Durham, NC, 3/20/11

Tufted Titmouse (Bacolphus bicolor),
Durham, 3/2/05. These birds balance their curiosity and wariness
nicely. They make very rapid trips to and from the birdfeeder, but
sometimes stop to study me carefully, usually (but not always) from a
tree branch.

Tufted Titmouse,
Durham,
NC, 12/27/07

Carolina Chickadee
(Poecile Carolinensis)

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile Carolinensis),
Durham, 3/31/05

Carolina Chickadee, Durham, 2/16/05

Creepers
(Certhiidae family,

Passeriformes order)

Brown Creeper
(Certhia americana)

Brown Creeper Certhia americana, subfamily Certhiinae), Durham, NC,
1/31/09. The name is misleading: this is the
fastest-moving bird I've ever seen go up (and down) the side of a tree.
ID thanks to Jeff Pippen, Phil Dickinson, Michael Boatwright, Ric
Carter, John Haire and many others confirming the ID.

Flycatchers and Phoebes
(Tyrannidae family, Passeriformes order)

Does anyone know what is tyrannical about these
birds? It has to be hard to be a tyrant when you're an especially tiny
little bird hiding out from people and never even attempting to conquer a
birdfeeder!

Great Crested
Flycatcher (Myarchus crinitus)

Great Crested Flycatcher (Myarchus crinitus),
Durham, NC, 6/23/08. Seen in a tree
in the marsh fronting my neighborhood swamp.

These birds originally came from Europe, and like
the finches are real survivors. They're the ultimate rat race birds: the
heck with the scenery, let's get down to business! Why go to the
trouble of building a nest when you can stay in the big letters on the front of
a grocery store, or take over a birdhouse intended for Eastern Bluebirds?
They may be domesticated, but they are not especially nice to others! The
family name implies that they are "true" songbirds. It's worth noting, however, that they've never made it to our
bird feeders.

House Sparrow
(Passer domesticus)

Female House Sparrow (Passer
domesticus), Durham,
4/3/05

Male House Sparrow,
San Francisco,
CA, 8/6/07

Male House Sparrow,
Cedar Island, NC, 3/21/05

Fledgling House Sparrow, Raleigh, NC, 9/14/12

Starlings
(Sturnidae family, Passeriformes order)

Common Starling, formerly known as the
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Not all Passeriformes are songbirds!
These birds are reputed to be the most intelligent of this order, and at any
rate they manage to get along without having to deal with people at all in my
neighborhood. The crows in my neighborhood fly around in large vocal groups which I can't resist
calling "caw-cuses," although I understand the official term is "murders."

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Blue Jay, Southpoint Swamp, Durham, NC, 11/12/07

Blue Jay,
Durham, NC, 7/7/09

Blue Jay,
Durham, 5/7/05. These birds are
found most often in deep woods, but are showing up around my house in
greater numbers lately.

Blue Jay, Durham, NC, 5/15/06

Fledgling Blue Jay,
Durham, NC, 5/18/08. Was seen wandering on
the edge of a wooded area.

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchus), Asheboro,
Randolph County, NC, 4/6/05. The wide beak, large body and long wings
give it a rather grand presence. This very tame crow was hanging
around the NC Zoo picnic area, near a pond.

These birds mostly hang out in trees near the
swamp in my neighborhood in small groups. They engage in dust-bathing to
rid themselves of parasites. And that's about all I know about them except
from books!

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptera caerulea)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptera
caerulea), Durham, 7/16/05.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,
Eno River
State Park, Cox Mountain, Orange County, NC, 4/12/06. This bird
was solitary.

Swallows and Martins
(Hirundinidae family, Passeriformes order)

Barn Swallow
(Hirunda rustica)

Barn Swallows are in flight nearly all the time during the
day, so it's always a treat to catch them taking a break.

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Ocracoke, Hyde County,
NC, 5/19/05

Barn Swallow, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/14/07

Barn Swallows
about to fly under the Pasquotank River Bridge between Pasquotank and
Camden Counties, NC, 4/27/09

Barn Swallows in nest under
walkway at NC Zoo, Asheboro, NC, 6/21/09.

Purple Martin
(Progne subis)

Purple Martins are thoroughly dependent on people
for housing, although they are quite capable of collecting materials and
stuffing them into these units to build nests. They have no problems
living in apartments. So far, they sound kind of like most people!
Other swallows are less specific in their expectations of human-made housing
provisions, but still quite dependent on us.

The Purple Martins in my neighborhood seemed to be social,
getting together and making a rapid series of widely varying sounds that are
tempting to read as conversation. They also seemed to have learned not to be
afraid of me, patiently and with apparent curiosity letting me take their
pictures at fairly close range. However, they have not returned here since
2007.

Adult male Purple Martin
(Progne subis), Durham, 5/12/05.
Purple Martins, a kind of swallow, are attracted to birdhouses (even bird apartments, as
shown here), where they build nests from various objects, including
pieces of paper, as is illustrated here.

YoungPurple Martin, Durham, 7/5/05

YoungPurple Martin, Durham, 6/26/05.
To order products with this photo, visit
our store.

Nuthatches were the first birds to come to our
new birdfeeder; in fact, the White-breasted Nuthatch was the only one for
awhile. Their agility may be a factor, since they have no trouble walking
up and down tree trunks.

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

Red-breasted Nuthatch
(Sitta
canadensis), Durham, 2/23/08.

Red-breasted Nuthatch,
Durham, NC, 3/16/05

White-breasted Nuthatch
(Sitta carolinensis)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis),
Durham, 1/17/08. This was the first species of bird that I photographed,
the first to appear on the deck. But it didn't come to the feeder
nearly as often as Northern Cardinals, American Goldfinches, Tufted
Titmice or Carolina Chickadees.

Brown-headed Nuthatch
(Sitta pusilla)

Brown-headed Nuthatch
(Sitta pusilla),
Durham,3/9/05.
Like all nuthatches (genus Sitta), this bird can walk around on tree
trunks, while birds of other genera have to stay erect on branches or
walk up the trunk.

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Durham, NC, 2/8/11

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Durham, NC, 2/2/9

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Durham, NC, 12/9/11

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Durham, NC, 12/27/07

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Durham, NC, 12/13/08

Brown-headed
Nuthatch making a hole in a wooden chimney. This behavior
is similar to that of Downy Woodpeckers in this respect, except that
Downies can be scared off! Durham, NC, 3/16/09

These are what Edward O. Wilson calls "true woodpeckers"
(as opposed to the honeycreepers of Hawaii) in The Diversity of Life
(1999, p. 100) because of their sheer numbers, variety of natural habitats, and
"élan and precision," i.e., they can really go to town on that tree (or your
house).

Woodpeckers prefer "mature forest," i.e., they
seek out dead trees, because 1) they build their nests in tree holes (which they
often create themselves) and 2) that's where the wood-munching insects are.
So
Downy Woodpeckers especially look for hollow-sounding wooden surfaces.
That's bad news for anyone who lives in a wooden house with any empty space, as
well as for the woodpecker that enters through a hole in a thin wall and can't
find its way out.

Rock Doves (Columba livia), Plaza de las Palomas, Old San Juan, Puerto
Rico. And all this time you didn't know pigeons were cuddly?
This is a favorite spot for both tourists and locals, including the
pigeons.

Rock Dove,
Myrtle Beach, Horry County, SC, 3/19/08

Rock Dove,
Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC, 6/25/08. This
is the classic form of this bird species.

Juvenile Ruby-throated
Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), NC Arboretum, Asheville, NC,
7/8/05. Order products with this picture on them at our store.

Vultures (Cathartidae
family, Falconiformes order)Believe it or not, the
Integrated Taxonomic Information System classified (as of 12/19/10) this species in the Ciconiidae Family,
Ciconiiformes order.

Black Vulture (Coragyps
atratus)

Black
Vultures, this time on my street! Durham, NC, 12/25/11

Black
Vultures (Coragyps atratus),
Santee State Park, Orangeburg County, SC. These were sitting on top of
a cabin. The leftmost vulture may be a young bird.

Black Vulture, one of two seen together on a power line tower.
One kept watch while the other looked away. Durham, NC, 10/13/08

Black Vulture,
Jordan Lake Dam area, Chatham County, NC, 9/3/11

Turkey
Vulture(Cathartes aura)

Turkey Vulture, Durham, NC,
12/16/12

Turkey Vulture(Cathartes aura),
Durham, NC, 2/1/08.

Turkey Vulture,
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC, 1/5/10. This
bird came low to take a close look. Since a severe cold spell
began (highs in the 30s) around the beginning of that year, Turkey
Vultures had been doing this often.

Birds of a feather
flock together, but sometimes they just sit around waiting for an
opportunity on dam gate control areas. Turkey Vultures at
the Jordan Lake Dam, Moncure, Chatham
County, NC, 9/20/10.

Hawks (Accipitridae family, Falconiformes order)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

This is reputed to be the most common North Carolina hawk
species. However, in my neighborhood, they are greatly outnumbered by
Red-shouldered Hawks.

Juvenile
Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk, which
was trying to avoid running into me as a big fog swirling up
from the west brought it to the top of the hill.

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk,
Durham, 3/27/05, a visitor to the birdfeeder area in my back yard. I've also
seen one hanging around White-Throated Sparrows in the woods. ID
thanks to Bill Clark of Harlingen, TX.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter
cooperii), Durham, NC, 1/18/10

Cooper's
Hawk? Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area Basin Trail, 3/11/11

Same hawk.
It was chasing a songbird over a sandy stretch near the marsh.
Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area Basin Trail, 3/11/11

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Seaforth
Recreational Area, Chatham County, NC, 3/13/05. Ospreys drop
feet first to capture fish. Note the big talons. They have a
loud chirping cry. According to Sibley
(2003), we are in the osprey's migration range and near its summer
range.

One Wild Turkey, at one
edge of the flock near Abbott Lake, Peaks of Otter, Bedford
County, VA, 7/18/12

Another Wild Turkey at the
other end, trading sentinel duty

A part of the Wild Turkey flock

Domestic Fowl

African Guinea Fowl, Winston-Salem, Forsyth
County, NC, 7/31/06, appeared in a backyard
in Old Salem. Thanks to Amy Barbe of Athens-Clarke County, GA for
ID: she says they are "very handy for eating ticks in your yard
and as a watch 'dog.'"

Chickens, Ocracoke, NC.
Yes, they're domesticated, but who could resist this scene?

Rooster, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, 1/31/02.
I guess we don't normally think of chickens as wildlife, but in Puerto
Rico some feral roosters run around loose.